F.X. Sutono, fairway snake catcher from Semarang

By Tarko Sudiarno and Nugroho CH

SEMARANG, Central Java (JP): What is likely to happen to a golf player who is busy playing his sport when all of a sudden a snake slithers towards him? He will no doubt be disturbed and no longer enjoy the game, and the golf course management are sure to lose some credibility.

Of course, golf course entrepreneurs do not want such incidents occurring. Periodic sweeping of golf courses for snakes has become a business necessity. Accordingly, sweeping has become a promising business opportunity, though not many have sought it because it is a dangerous job and requires certain expertise.

One of those who has used his sharp eyes to arrest this opportunity is F.X. Sutono, a beast tamer from Semarang. In fact, he has been requested to sweep snakes from golf courses all over Indonesia, which total around 100.

Sutono, however, refused to mention his rate of fees to sweep snakes from golf courses.

"The important thing is that the fees are enough to cover our transportation costs, plus an additional extra for the service," said the grandfather of five, who celebrated his 81st birthday on Dec. 28, explained.

His large house in a posh housing complex in Semarang plus five cars in his garage are enough to prove how the business he has been deeply involved in has been quite lucrative. In a week, Sutono and his assistants usually get one to two orders.

As a snake tamer, Sutono firmly denies the myth that claims that snakes can be called. "Snakes are precisely the only animal that cannot be called." The only way to catch snakes is by approaching them," said the man who was born in Tlawah village, a sub-district of Kedung Jati, Purwodadi Regency, Central Java.

Sutono inherited his expertise in handling snakes from his grandfather, a forester in Dutch Indian times. Ever since he was a small boy, Sutono had been intimate with wild animals because he lived near a forest.

To catch snakes in the golf course area, Sutono uses two matches which are placed across each other on his left palm. If one of the matches vibrates, then it is certain that there is a snake (snakes) in the direction of the vibrating match. Sutono then points to that direction and his assistants immediately approach, seek and catch the snake(s). A golf course of approximately 30 hectares can be cleared from snakes within two consecutive days.

The captured snakes are then gathered and contained in a box, which will be brought home to Semarang. Some of them are taken care of in a zoo named Taman Lele, which is managed by Sutono, and others are released in safe wild places such as swamps or the sea, depending of course on the kind of snake. "They also have a right to live," Sutono said.

"If they are not provoked or stepped on, snakes will not attack or bite people. Snakes prefer to avoid men. They are not as ferocious as human beings," he said.

Lover of animals

Sutono prefers to be called a lover of animals rather than an animal tamer. "I am not a tamer, but an animal lover," he said.

That is why Sutono never kills the snakes that he catches. He prefers to look after the snakes or release them in safe places. Sutono has never been tempted to commercialize the skins or meat of snakes though this business could make him very rich. "If I wanted to do so, I could be rich by trading in snakes, but what for?" he said.

The snake trade is indeed very tempting. That is why the Indonesian Institute of Sanca (Yayasan Sanca Indonesia) is worried about the extinction of snakes as a result of unchecked poaching.

Chairman of the Institute, Bowo Nurcahyo, said that over 100,000 snakes are caught and traded every month in Yogyakarta province alone. If this is not stopped immediately, Bowo, said there will be few snakes left in Yogyakarta by 2003.

The type of snakes caught and traded are different kinds of cobra, jali and pythons. In addition to their skins, their meat as well as their bile are expensive commodities. The price of a cobra can reach Rp 12,000, and Rp 10,000 for jali snakes. Bowo estimated the snake business in Yogyakarta province is worth approximately Rp 1.2 billion monthly.

As an animal lover, Sutono has never been tempted by the amount of money the snake trade can make. "I have never killed any snake, let alone sell its skin," he said.

Sutono loves animals so much that back in 1972 he made a controversial decision. He decided to retire from his position as a civil servant in the Diponegoro Military Command that oversees security in Central Java and Yogyakarta Central and decided to accept an offer from the Mayor of Semarang, Hadiyanto, to manage the Taman Lele Zoo.

As a manager of the zoo, he received a monthly salary of Rp 4,500 whereas as a civil servant he received hundreds of thousands of rupiahs monthly plus a pension. Sutono currently still chairs the Taman Lele Zoo. "My monthly salary is Rp 125,000."

Sutono's income as manager of Taman Lele Zoo is indeed very small. But he earns a great deal more money outside this job, sweeping snakes from golf courses.

Before golf courses began mushrooming, Sutono also earned a lot of money from making use of his expertise as a tamer of poisonous animals such as snakes, scorpions and centipedes. He has made use of his expertise to become involved in approximately 127 films, both as an actor, a director and an officer in charge, giving immunity to actors and actresses as well as the film crew so that they are not injured when they are bitten by snakes or stung by scorpions during shooting.

Outside the film business, Sutono also conducts snake dance shows around the city that he and his crew visit. For this activity, he gets help from his wife, Sukorini, and his assistants. The Nogogini (meaning fire of snake) snake dance group that is led by Cecilia Sukorini has in fact been registered as a pioneer of snake dancing in Indonesia.

As a manager of a zoo, Sutono has also been lucky because he has managed to travel the world. He has visited no less than 21 countries to demonstrate his expertise as a snake tamer and to attend a world congress of animal lovers.

"Had I decided to remain a civil servant, I wouldn't have had such opportunities," he said.